Chi-Woo offered the entire bottle of divine water, which was said to be difficult to even find, much less gain a drop of it. And after three days, one or two heroes began to awaken their energies. Although there existed the method of awakening one’s energy by establishing a contract with a god, the original way of achieving this was by reaching a ‘realization’ after great effort, similar to how a mage lived decades near water and learned its nature, or how a martial artist built their inner cores through breathing exercises.
And from this event, Chi-Woo learned the difference between a ‘traditional’ hero and a ‘modern’ hero. And there came the famous nonsensical question of what came first: the chicken or the egg? There had been a popular debate in the same vein in the Celestial Realm, about whether a person was born a hero, or made one through many external circumstances. With the exception of extremely rare cases like the Twelve Families who lit up the Celestial Realm, the latter seemed to be true. After all, the origin stories of heroes were all quite similar. There were those who only revealed themselves in times of desperation, as humanity was approaching the brink of extinction. And after going through countless trials and tribulations, these people grew in strength; those who survived among them continued to become stronger and stronger until they gained a power that surpassed their species. People called those superior beings who saved their species from extinction, ‘heroes’.
Yet heroes from these days were different. First of all, they were all summoned without much distinction, and above all, they easily gained privileges that would have normally taken a great amount of effort and time to earn. This was the reason why some traditional heroes didn’t look kindly upon the modern heroes. Of course, the ways of the modern hero were much more efficient, but if one assessed these new heroes with standards of what a hero was supposed to be, the heroes would fall short in many ways. Anyways, because of these differences in how they gained their powers, there was a clear difference between traditional and modern heroes.
Even Chi-Woo thought the modern heroes who yelled and whined for powers and weapons without any effort needed a good slap as a wake-up call. Nevertheless, Chi-Woo wasn’t prejudiced against modern heroes like the traditional ones were. After all, he was among these modern heroes who received privileges before coming to this world. Furthermore, he knew that it wasn’t right to generalize a whole group for the actions of the few.
[We might not have a pure or noble purpose. And even though some of us might have become heroes by chance and became a little bit obsessed with playing heroes, we have all come to save this world like you. Please…believe in us.]
As Allen Leonard had once said, there were all types of heroes. Chi-Woo respected the old-timers who believed strongly in hard work, patience, and grit, but that didn’t mean he looked down on the stat systems that modern day heroes used now. If Chi-Woo had to choose, he was more in the middle ground. Wouldn’t it be a win-win situation if he could combine substantial effort with a system that helped him progress? Moreover, as someone who used to live like an ordinary person, he was in no place to be picky. In order for him to survive, he needed to be strong; and to get stronger, he needed to be willing to do anything within reason. And that was Chi-Woo’s hero philosophy.
“Make yourself comfortable. Loosen up and try to be as comfortable as possible.” Then came Ru Amuh’s voice. “You can lie down, sit, or stand—whatever suits you. The important part is for you to become one with the energy flowing from the ground. Surrender yourself to the flow.”
Hearing this, Chi-Woo lay down. He rolled this way and that to find a comfortable posture.
“I felt the flow when I got into my usual sleeping posture,” Ru Amuh advised, and Chi-Woo turned to the left side. He used his arm as his pillow and arched his back slightly like a shrimp. If only he had a pillow to snuggle with right now, it would’ve been perfect.
“Good. Now breathe slowly and empty your mind,” Ru Amuh said.
The two were practicing in front of the yongmaek, because Chi-Woo had requested Ru Amuh to teach him after wondering what they should do in the time they had left. Since Chi-Woo would be facing a god this time, he knew he wouldn’t be able to win this fight with mere physical abilities. He wasn’t sure what he would do when this fight came, but he knew he would have to use his exorcism mana for sure. Thus, Chi-Woo asked Ru Amuh to teach him a way that would help him gain better control of his exorcism mana and increase its amount, and Ru Amuh had offered to teach Chi-Woo the breathing exercises he often used.
“Now, try to gradually focus all your senses on the ground’s flow. So focused that you can no longer hear my voice and even forget to breathe…”
Ru Amuh’s voice became fainter. A pleasant silence descended upon Chi-Woo, and the pure and enormous energy flowing from the ground came rushing toward him. Rather than pushing him away, though, it felt as if the current was passing through him, all the while transferring energy into his body. It was as if his body was melting and becoming one with the earth. The sensation was unfamiliar, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
While these two men focused on their training, Ru Hiana looked at Ru Amuh with a displeased look on her face. Then, when she looked at Chi-Woo, her gaze turned worried.
‘I can also teach Senior…’ she thought. It wasn’t because she was jealous. As someone who knew first-hand how difficult and exhausting it was to receive Ru Amuh’s teachings, Ru Hiana was simply worried for Chi-Woo. Geniuses had a different way of viewing things from ordinary people, and it was impossible for the two to see eye-to-eye. For example, if one used cooking as an analogy, a genius would give an instruction like, ‘Season to taste.’ And if one asked if they should put a large or a small scoop of soy sauce, or how many grams of salt they should put in their dish, the genius would reply, ‘Just trust your gut.’
Such responses would drive the person being taught insane. But the most infuriating thing was that even if the genius didn’t use any measurements and just went with their gut, they always ended up with the best dishes. And thus, it was extremely frustrating and despairing to learn from Ru Amuh, who was a genius among geniuses. Ru Hiana had ended up yelling at him, saying, ‘I’m never going to ask you to teach me again. I bet you’ll never be able to teach another person!’ And true to her words, Ru Hiana had never turned to him for guidance since then.
‘Of course, since Senior has the experience, he might be different from me, but…’ She wasn’t looking down on Chi-Woo. However, achievements and talent were completely different matters. From Ru Hiana’s perspective, Ru Amuh’s talent was extraordinary, and he had been invited to the Celestial Realm as a special case because of it.
It was at that moment, Chi-Woo, who was immersed in the flow of energy, softly said, “It’s good… I can feel it… The energy absorbs into my body and leaves in the opposite direction.”
“…Sir?” Ru Amuh’s eyes widened. In this short amount of time, Chi-Woo had already felt the yongmaek’s energy and absorbed it? Ru Amuh was shocked when he quickly sensed the energy around Chi-Woo.
Ru Amuh’s theory of absorbing energy was like the wind; he didn’t know where the wind originated, but the wind would flow in a certain direction. Since this flow of wind was hard to detect, Ru Amuh was planning to make Chi-Woo identify where the earth’s energy was flowing so that it would be easier for Chi-Woo to sense the energy and accept it. However, Chi-Woo had already skipped over those steps and was even pulling the energy towards him. What Chi-Woo did was no different than calculating geometry and vectors after being taught fundamental arithmetic operations.
Ru Amuh had expected a lot from Chi-Woo, but this was way over his expectations….! Sensing that he had met someone of his own kind, Ru Amuh became unusually excited. “Energy naturally tries to find the best path to enter your body. Can you try to sense the energy flowing into your body with more clarity?”
“Yes.”
“Can you remember the path the energy takes?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you replying too easily… You need to remember that path with perfect precision.”
Chi-Woo tilted his head inside his mind. Thanks to the body purification inside the cave, all of his blood vessels, even the smallest ones, have been opened up. As a result, the flow of energy was not chaotic at all. Even though the path was still complicated, the energy moved without hesitation and in clear lines. It was easy to read the flow of energy like a person’s palm. “It’s not very difficult.”
“Then…would you be able to remember the path and repeatedly draw energy through that path?” Ru Amuh wasn’t completely sure if Chi-Woo could also do this.
“Hmm…” Chi-Woo let out a small sigh, and Ru Amuh stared intently at Chi-Woo. Then something caught his eye; he saw the smile on Chi-Woo’s face slowly deepening. Chi-Woo was also feeling an unknown source of enjoyment.
Energy reacted to will. Since Chi-Woo had already used the power of exorcism before, it was not difficult to lead the energy through a certain path. ‘It feels like I’m organizing my belongings.’ Like he was completely unraveling a ball of yarn and rolling it back up neatly, Chi-Woo felt a strange sense of satisfaction from circulating his exorcism energy throughout his whole body in the same direction. An unexpected pleasure hit him when he pushed his energy past the vessel on top of his head and let it come down like a waterfall. Then, he suddenly realized that the more he spun his exorcism energy, the more his energy grew.
Flash! Soon after, Chi-Woo opened his eyes. Ru Amuh’s mouth slightly gaped open when he saw a strong light coming out of Chi-Woo’s eyes, which was clear evidence that Chi-Woo had successfully removed the impurities in his body and accepted the clean energy of the yongmaek. It could be likened to extracting 100 percent pure metal from a mine.
‘He even refined the energy from a yongmaek created by divinity before absorbing it… Teacher, what kind of person are you…’ Ru Amuh wondered how clear and noble Chi-Woo’s mind and body must be for him to do this so easily. Ru Amuh couldn’t contain his amazement and clapped.
“It feels good,” Chi-Woo said with a smile. His exorcism mana had definitely increased by at least a little bit. Even though its rank was still E, he felt that it would soon reach rank D. “It feels very good. Like I’ve been reborn.” Chi-Woo’s face also looked very refreshed.
“You did an amazing job. I’m really jealous.” Ru Amuh raised his thumb. The fact that light came out of his eyes was evidence that Chi-Woo followed at least 100 percent of what Ru Amuh had told him to do.
“As expected of Mr. Ru Amuh. I’m glad that I asked you to teach me.”
“No, you praise me too much. I haven’t really done much. I’m very glad that I could be of help to you.” Ru Amuh, who couldn’t believe that a hero of Chi-Woo level would not even know the most basic breathing technique, replied with humility.
“You’re the best. Mr. Ru Amuh, you really are the best teacher.”
“It’s the first time I heard such a compliment…but it doesn’t feel bad. Haha.” Ru Amuh seemed very happy that finally there was someone who could understand his teaching, so even while scratching his head, he had a very bright smile on his face.
Chi-Woo stretched his arms and looked around. The yongmaek was still crowded. There were heroes on their knees in prayer, heroes standing upright like martial artists, and heroes lying down with their limbs sprawled out. Everyone was using the fortress in different ways. Since they were all from different cultures, it seemed as if they had different ways to reach awakening.
Chi-Woo spotted one person among the group, and his eyes brightened. “Oh, Ms. Ru Hiana.” He raised his hand and called out to her, but she didn’t reply. Even though she was looking this way, she seemed to be in a strange state. Ru Hiana had her mouth opened wide with a blank face. She was thinking, ‘What’s with Ru Amuh? When he was teaching me, he yelled at me many times that I wasn’t doing it properly! But senior successfully did it his first time? Ru Amuh even clapped for him?’
“Ms. Ru Hiana?” When Chi-Woo called out to him again, Ru Hiana’s lips trembled. “…Ugh…”
“?”
“Hmph.” She then whirled around so fast that her ponytail swished, and she ran out of the yongmaek. Chi-Woo wasn’t sure he heard her properly, but it sounded like she had shouted, ‘He’s so annoying—!’
[No. User Choi Chi-Woo was able to easily absorb energy thanks to the influence of his Golden Ratio. He’s definitely not a genius.]
Mimi offered words of consolation, but unfortunately, they couldn’t reach Ru Hiana.
* * *
Time passed, and most of the heroes had reached an awakening thanks to the yongmaek. Even without making a contract with a god, they could use at least a bit of energy, so the recruits felt extremely satisfied. Whenever Chi-Woo came out in the streets, everyone greeted him. There were even heroes who greeted him with extreme politeness. Since Chi-Woo helped them gain a bit of the power they had so desperately craved, it was natural that they would feel so grateful.
While they were training, Chi-Woo also didn’t laze around. The witch, Evelyn, had told him that she’d soon pick him up. He didn’t know when she’ll come back, but since he was going to face a god, he needed to make significant preparations.
[Why aren’t you going to use your remaining divinity?] Mimi asked. [Your opponent is a god. Even if you give all that you have, it won’t be enough. Won’t it be better to use at least all your remaining divinity to increase your skills?]
Mimi only spoke facts, but Chi-Woo’s answer made her completely flabbergasted.
‘It feels wasteful.’
[What?]
‘Isn’t that the case? They’re consumables that disappear once you use them, and there’s no way for me to replenish it now.’
Mimi was extremely frustrated again and argued in a sharp tone. [Even if that’s the case, is it more important than your life?]
‘That’s not the case, but I do have a plan in mind.’
Mimi was planning to hurl disapproving words at Chi-Woo like a downpour of bullets, but Chi-Woo’s response gave her pause. [A plan?]
Holy water was also known as the wishing well. He could easily find a way to use it in a fight since he could wish inside his mind.
[But even with that.]
‘I’m not saying I won’t use my divinity. I’m just going to judge the situation first and use it when it’s the perfect time,’ Chi-Woo continued. ‘And I also have this.’ Chi-Woo had a bunch of yellow paper in his hand, which had clearly decreased in number.
[Aren’t those talismans?]
‘Yes, that’s right. Are you going to get angry that I’ll be merely using talismans like this to fight a god?’
[Yes, you know me very well.]
‘Fufu. I thought so. Please wait a bit.’ After saying this, Chi-Woo grabbed his bag, and while rummaging through it, he continued his thought, ‘I understand your concern, but holy water is the same as divinity. And divinity is an omnipotent power. Like this time with the yongmaek, it can help us achieve basically anything, so I can’t waste it.’ Then he added, ‘That was what Ms. Laguel told me.’
Mimi stayed quiet for a bit. After a short silence, she spoke again.
[…I don’t know who Laguel is, but I don’t think she was telling you to save it even during such times.]
‘How do you know that?’
[I’m definitely right about this. If you want, you can go ask her later on. And one more thing, who told you that divinity was omnipotent? She said that it’s a very useful power that could be used in various ways depending on the situation.]
‘What the. How did you know? Are you perhaps Ms. Laguel?’
[I read your memory, and who is the woman you’re talking about?]
‘Ah.’ Chi-Woo accepted the explanation and said, ‘There’s someone like that. I guess, an angel who is a bit of a tsundere?’
[Tsundere?]
‘Yes, my first impression of her was very bad, but I think that secretly, she cares about me… Anyway, she’s a bit funny.’
[What’s funny about her?]
‘Will you hear me out? She likes my brother; even though she doesn’t act like it, it’s rea~lly obvious.’
[Ah—so, what’s your plans with the talismans?]
Mimi quickly changed the topic. There were so many important matters to discuss, so Mimi was uninterested in pointless conversations.
“Ah, this.” Chi-Woo took out two talismans from his pile. They were no ordinary talismans, but talismans that even his church mentor thought were too precious to leave behind. His mentor had said that even using one of these every 20 years was too much and told him to never use it if he could. He had two of these extraordinary talismans; there used to be three, but Chi-Woo had used one to summon White Horse General in the forest. And now it was time for him to use another one.
‘This talisman is…’ Chi-Woo lifted a white talisman with black patterns, and his eyes brightened.